Recreational outings to the beach or shoreline can be disrupted or even ruined by injuries resulting from stepping on or otherwise coming in contact with a partially buried glass shard, fish hook, nail, shell fragment or other sharp object that can puncture unprotected skin. Such objects are typically very difficult to detect visually because they may be completely covered by thin layer of sand or soil, only to be revealed when a person's weight is applied directly on top of the object, when it is too late to avoid contact. While popular public beach areas may be maintained by periodically dragging a large rake across the sand using a tractor or similar motorized vehicle, such rakes capture only the largest objects such as driftwood, large pieces of seaweed, cans, plastic bags or newspapers, leaving behind smaller, sharp objects partially concealed as the sand is raked. Further, such methods can only be used in large, sandy open areas. For beaches that have large rocks protruding through the sand, or areas with scattered plant life, vehicle-drawn rakes cannot be used.
Hand tools designed for sifting debris from sand and soil have been disclosed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,690 describes a tapered wedge attached to a mesh cage. The wedge is pulled across the surface of the sand or soil by a handle so that wedge ramps debris into the mesh cage. Because the mesh case does not contact the ground, the wedge provides the bulk of the sifting function while the cage acts as a receptacle for holding the collected debris. The wedge tends to be rigid and is fairly bulky, making it rather inconvenient to transport the tool for use on a recreational outing that often involves the need to simultaneously transport toys, beach chairs, towels, picnic gear and other items from a vehicle to the destination.
Another hand tool is the combination sand rake and shovel described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,122. The body of the shovel is a mesh material so that, after the head of the shovel is driven into the sand, the sand above the shovel is sifted as the shovel head is lifted upward. While the sifting action may be effective in filtering small objects, a great deal of energy must be expended to clean an area of a square meter or more.
In view of the limitations of prior art devices, the need remains for a hand tool which can be easily transported for use during outings, and which can be used effectively to clean a large enough area to provide room to move about and play without requiring significant exertion by the user. The present invention is directed to such a tool.